Everyone … everyone … wants what’s best for their kids. They want to send their kids to the best schools possible. They want their kids to do better than them, to go on to college, to be educated. Educated people succeed more in life than non-educated people.If Philadelphia were to have a world-class school system, what would happen? People would move into the city because they’d want their kids to go to those schools. Big companies would be drawn into town because their employees could live in a place where they could send their kids to a great school system. Small businesses, like restaurants, dry cleaners and clothing shops would pop up all around to serve this growing population. Real estate prices would go up. Construction would increase. Balloons and confetti would rain down from the sky! And tax revenues would increase too. So the city could then pay for its infrastructure and its “business growth” initiatives, whatever they may be. No need for the Economy League to be doing all that. It’s the schools, stupid.

It’s a compelling argument, and one that. as a parent and life-long Philadelphian, I hope is taken to heart by our city’s and school’s leaders.

One Response to "Schools in Decline = City In Decline"

I know you had to quote someone and Helen Gym hasn't had an Op Ed on the subject in a while but Gene Marks doesn't live in the city and chose to locate his business on the other side of City Line AND wrote really condescendingly about Philadelphia students. He's basically the tri-fecta of a terrible source on the subject.